Lost David Bowie Footage to Be Screened by BBC

LONDON – Lost footage of David Bowie performing "Jean Genie" will be aired on the BBC Wednesday almost 40 years after it was thought lost.

The four-minute film sees Bowie performing alongside The Spiders From Mars in full glam-rock mode and playing harmonica.

The 1973 film came to light only recently, having previously thought to have been wiped in the days when video tape was regularly re-used.

It came to light earlier this month at an event hosted by the British Film Institute, which tracks down rare and lost footage. Retired cameraman John Henshall had worked on the show and kept a copy of Bowie’s performance.

“I couldn’t believe that I was the only one with it. I just thought you wouldn’t be made enough to wipe a tape like that,” he said.

The performance has not been seen on television since it was originally broadcast on Jan. 4 1973, but will be aired by BBC2 on a Top of The Pops Christmas special.